By Phenyo Selinda
Cape Town – Public Works and Infrastructure Minister, Dean Macpherson, has lauded the collaborative efforts by the City of Cape Town and private sector partners to combat the increasing menace of the so-called construction mafia at development projects. This announcement marks a significant step towards safeguarding South Africa’s infrastructure projects and ensuring a secure environment for investment.
“From my very first day in office, I have been clear that the South African government would not be negotiating with criminals such as the construction mafia, but would rather work with all role-players to address this scourge in our communities to safeguard our infrastructure projects,” stated Macpherson.
The City of Cape Town, alongside key players such as Atterbury and Old Mutual, made a joint announcement to unite against the pervasive issue affecting developmental projects. This initiative aims to curb the rising lawlessness at construction sites, ensuring that the construction sector can play its crucial role in the nation’s economic growth.
“To eradicate the rise of lawlessness at construction sites across the country, it will require that we all work together, and make use of new and innovatory approaches to fight crime. The construction sector should be playing a bigger and more important role in growing our country’s economy. This is only possible if we ensure our sites are safe and public and private sector investments are secure from lawlessness and extortion,” said Macpherson in a statement on Monday.
National and Local Government Collaboration
The Minister expressed his anticipation for upcoming meetings with key municipal leaders. In August, he is scheduled to meet with the City of Cape Town’s Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, and eThekwini Municipality Mayor, Cyril Xaba, to discuss collaborative strategies to combat the construction mafia. This follows a recent meeting with the City of Tshwane Mayor at the end of July.
“By working together, we will be able to turn the tide against the construction mafia in South Africa to ensure that they no longer operate with impunity. I look forward to working with the South African Police Service and the South African Revenue Service to further identify these criminals and expedite accountability,” added Macpherson.
A Call for Nationwide Replication
The joint effort in Cape Town is seen as a model that could be replicated nationwide. Macpherson emphasised the importance of a united front between the public and private sectors to tackle crime in the construction industry.
“It is imperative that to grow the economy and to create jobs, we turn South Africa into a construction site, which can only take place if we break the back of the construction mafia. The private-public partnership announced in Cape Town will play a big role in achieving this goal and should be a model we look to replicate across the country. Let us build South Africa,” he concluded.
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